Datto founder readying Norwalk based company for new hires

By ROBIN SATTLERHour Staff Writer

Published
2:45 pm EST, Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Hour Photo/Alex von Kleydorff Austin McChord, CEO and Founder of Datto stands in a room filled with brand new office chairs ready to be unwrapped and placed in a new space his company expanding to and is re fitting at 101 Merritt View in Norwalk

Hour Photo/Alex von Kleydorff Austin McChord, CEO and Founder of Datto stands in a room filled with brand new office chairs ready to be unwrapped and placed in a new space his company expanding to and is re

Hour Photo/Alex von Kleydorff Austin McChord, CEO and Founder of Datto stands in a room filled with brand new office chairs ready to be unwrapped and placed in a new space his company expanding to and is re fitting at 101 Merritt View in Norwalk

Hour Photo/Alex von Kleydorff Austin McChord, CEO and Founder of Datto stands in a room filled with brand new office chairs ready to be unwrapped and placed in a new space his company expanding to and is re

Clad in jeans and a plaid dress shirt, Austin McChord could very well be any of the 300 plus employees at Norwalk-based Datto -- but he is the founder and CEO of the one of the fastest growing technology companies in the country.

"I don't want people to be afraid of me, I want them to talk to me," McChord said as he strolled around his office. "I'm sure we're not perfect here, so if something is wrong, I want people to be able to come to me and tell me."

McChord, 29, founded the global provider of comprehensive data backup in 2007 when he was 22 years old with the notion of creating the best backup and disaster recovery and business continuity solution available.

Having began as a basement start-up in Wilton, the company has since ballooned to 330 employees in its Norwalk office with global locations in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

In addition, Datto recently expanded to offices in Rochester, New York and Boston, Massachusetts through its acquisition of the company, Backupify.

"I started here right after college and I have the dubious distinction of never having interviewed for a real job," McChord said. "I thought for sure I would fail when I started this company, but maybe my not being afraid to fail is the reason why I was successful."

McChord's laidback attitude and exemplary business capabilities earned him the distinction of being named one of Connecticut Magazine's 40 under 40 in its February issue. He was also featured in Forbes magazine as one of its 2015 30 under 30.

"I just really love what I do, the people who work here and the passion that they bring," McChord said. "I had the opportunity to sell the business for over $100 million dollars, but I said no because I'm not done working here. A lot of people say they're not in it for the money, but turning it down ($100 million) was a really freeing thing to do and made me realize that I'm not in it for the money. It was a really empowering moment."

Currently housed at 101 Merritt 7, McChord's company is in the process of expanding to encompass four floors in the building.

In 2014, the company received $6 million in state funding from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development for Datto's expansion project, which will cost an estimated $15 million.

The state funding, consisting of a low-interest loan and a grant-in-aid, will be used for construction, leasehold improvements and the purchase of machinery and equipment.

"We plan to hire another 100 people by the end of the year," McChord said. "The past four and a half years have been crazy. Our head count has doubled year after year and our sales have doubled as well."

McChord said he is proud to have created a unique culture at Datto, which aims to always look ahead, exceed expectations and keep Datto at the forefront of everything it does.